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FEJUVE El Alto declares a 24 hour strike against Paredes

La Razon, 18/01/07

Resolution – A meeting took this decision last night. There are threats against public and private property. The government has asked them to put aside this attitudes.

The meeting of the Federation of Neighbourhood Council (FEJUVE) of El Alto held last night agreed to carry out a civic stoppage and mobilization next Monday with the objective of “expelling the prefect Jose Luis Paredes”.

The meeting, which lasted around two hours, counted with the presence of close to 300 presidents of the neighbourhood councils, according to the president of this body, Narzario Ramirez. In contact with the radio station Pachamama, at the end of the meeting, the leader read out the six point resolution.

The first, he said, ratified the request of the resignation of the departmental authority; the second point established a civic stoppage for Monday January 22. The third announced the taking over of the premises of the prefecture and the property of Paredes.

The fourth decision was a threat to expel the zonal leaders that betray the movement. The fifth point established that direct and only responsibility would lie with the prefect for any that went wrong (deaths, injured or clashes) during the mobilization.

Finally, the media (oral, written and audiovisual) were warned that there installations would be taken over if they distorted the events.

The decision was made only one day after peace returned to Cochabamba, after a week of conflict in the capital, were sectors aligned with MAS and sympathizers of the prefect Manfred Reyes Villa clashed, leaving two dead and more than 100 injured.

At the same time, the pronouncement ignored the request made, in the name of the president, by the vice minister for coordination with the social movements, Alfredo Rada.

In the afternoon, the authority asked the altenos to put aside this attitude and seek a legal end to their demand (referring to the proposal for a recall referendum).

“This is the democratic way out to the conflicts which are presenting themselves in the country… reconsider this, just as the social organisations from Cochabamba did who ceded on their position” emphasized vice minister Rada.

He added that the government urged a climate of social stability to continue with the process of change. A short while before, according the ANF agency, the spokesperson for the palace, Alex Contreras declared that the executive rejected the attitude of the alteno organizations and asked them to reconsider the mechanisms of pressure used so that Paredes would resign from the prefecture. He signaled that a blockade of roadway in the altiplano would affect the economy of the region.

By the morning, Eduardo Leon, legal advisor for the prefect, informed that Paredes would demand a response from the president of FEJUVE for offense, slander and incitement to sedition, and that he would wait 48 hours for them to retract the unfounded denunciations made in the open town meeting on Monday.

By night time, in a declaration to Unitel, the prefect said that he had withdrawn this demand to avoid problems.

The grand meeting of the presidents of the neighbourhood councils of the eight districts of the city of El Alto along with the district resolution votes and the social organisations of the department have decided on the following resolutions

First – Ratify the call for the resignation of Jose Luis Paredes Munoz from the departmental prefecture of La Paz and reject all resolutions coming from the corrupt prefecture.

Second – A Mobilised Civic Stoppage starting from 12am on Monday 22 of the current month and year.

Third – The departmental councillors should come back down to the bases because of their betrayal and for not comply with the decisions of the open town meeting (censure the prefect) and instead be replaced.

Fourth – The physical take over of the buildings of the prefecture and subprefecture of the department of La Paz as well as the property of the traitorous prefect Jose Luis Paredes

Fifth – The leaders who betray the mobilisations and resolutions of the meeting of FEJUVE El Alto will be expelled shamefully.

Sixth – In the case of confrontation resulting in deaths, the only person responsible will be Jose Luis Paredes

Seventh – Any mass media outlet that does not transparently and impartially report on the events will be declared enemy of El Alto

Eight – Disarticulate all the corrupt and party political apparatus of Pepelucho Paredes which still remains within in the mayoral office of El Alto, the sub mayoral offices, the Vigilance Committee, the neighbourhood committees and even within FEJUVE El Alto

Voted on in the meeting room of FEJUVE on the 17 day of the month of January in the year 2007